The number of single-family homes built in the city last year hit at least a 20-year low, accounting for just 136 of the 1,088 housing units built in Guelph — and city hall thinks this trend will continue into the future.

“The proportional split between the housing types constructed in 2016 is generally reflective of the projected unit splits over the long-term average to 2031, which anticipates a lower proportion of single and semi-detached construction and a higher proportion of townhouse and apartment construction,” says a new city staff report.

The 1,088 building permits for housing issued by the city in 2016 consisted of 136 permits for single-detached dwellings, 42 for semi-detached, 266 for townhouses, 479 for apartments and 165 for accessory apartments, says the city’s annual monitoring report on growth management in Guelph.

A chart in the report — going back to 1996 — shows single-family home construction in Guelph hit its peak in 2000, when singles accounted for 759 of 1,025 building permits, and again in 2004, when they accounted for 755 of 1,483 housing permits.

Construction of single-detached homes fell to 482 in 2005, and the number of singles has been below 400 every year since 2008.

The 1,088 residential building permits issued by the city in 2016 was well below the 1,353 permits issued the year before — which was the second highest number in the past 20 years, trailing only 2004. In 2015, the mix of these 1,353 permits included 261 singles, 22 semis, 348 townhouses, 565 apartments and 157 accessory apartments.

However, despite the drop, 2016 was the fourth year in a row that the number of residential building permits issued was above Guelph’s 20-year average. City hall is aiming for a long-term average of 1,170 housing units to be built annually.

Apartment housing starts have been trending higher than historical averages since 2013, with 44 per cent of the new units created in 2016 being apartments, the report says.

“Over the past several years, townhouse and apartment units have become the dominant types of constructed housing units,” it says.

“This mix of new housing construction continues to contribute towards a more balanced city-wide housing stock and aligns with the city’s housing forecasts, where proportionally a larger number of townhouse and apartment units are being constructed than single and semi-detached dwellings.